Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia and Cayenne GT, the kings of mud and asphalt

Twenty years ago the Porsche Cayenne hit the market. It was meant to become the most versatile model of the German brand, and proof of this was the appearance of the Cayenne S Transsyberia. This version was born shortly after launch and is based on the model’s first generation, designed to take on one of the toughest rallies on the European continent, the Transsyberia.

This variant, aimed at competition customers, had some modifications over the production model that allowed it to be even more efficient on the difficult terrain this event covered. Without being an off-roader in the conventional sense, the German model could tackle the rally course with only minor changes to its equipment.

A car built for rallying

The Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia had additions designed for competition. A snorkel was fitted to the exhaust, a roll cage was added, unnecessary elements were removed, such as the rear seats and the sound system, the suspension was adjusted and the underbody was reinforced, among other things.

The engine powering the vehicle was a 4.8-litre V8 producing 385 CV and a maximum torque of 500 Nm. It was paired with a six-speed Triptronic automatic gearbox. With this setup it became one of the most powerful versions of the Cayenne and, above all, the most versatile.

The Porsche Cayenne GT, built for the track

By contrast, the Porsche Cayenne GT was designed to move with ease on circuits. Unlike the previous model, it features a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. This delivers 640 CV and a maximum torque of 850 Nm, figures well above the Cayenne S Transsyberia. In this case it uses an eight-speed Triptronic automatic gearbox.

The 0 to 100 km/h acceleration is quoted at 3.3 seconds and the top speed is set at 300 km/h. This made it the fastest SUV to complete a lap of the Nürburgring in 2021, with a time of 7:38.9 minutes.

The Porsche Cayenne GT is not the most powerful in the range, as that honour goes to the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, with 680 CV. However, it has all the optional upgrades in the range, so it enjoys many advantages over other variants. The result is a version that delivers exceptional performance on the track and makes for outstanding lap times.